The Human Genome Project made a huge mistake. Due to technical limitations in the 90s they systematically depleted and ignored a set of our most important genes, called ribosomal RNA (rRNA). The 300 copies of this gene produce 80% of the cells total RNA and are responsible for translating messenger RNA into protein. The assumption at the time was that all 300 copies were identical repeats, which is untrue.
The Crown Project is a collaborative Open Science project to investigate the variation in ribosomal RNA in human populations and cancers. Everyone is invited to contribute.
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Hypotheses ..* rDNA is variable across loci/copies within and between humans ..* rDNA is mutable in cancer ..* rRNA variations result in altered ribosomal function ..* Mutated rDNA represent a potential gain/loss of function onco-ribosomes mechanism
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Literature: Annotated bibliography of key research
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Notebook: Research Lab Notebook
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Software: List of software and versions ## not implemented